Social Media Strategy Keeps NHL Fans Enthralled

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Those who follow hockey know the deadline for NHL teams to trade players came and went Wednesday. Typically, the day drives the most traffic and unique visitors to the NHL site. But this year, a real-time Twitter feed on the NHL's site produced the most impressive interaction with fans to date.

Michael DiLorenzo, the NHL's director of social media marketing and strategy, calls the number of people -- 1,500 -- who visited the Twitter channel Wednesday on the NHL site "small potatoes," but "significant." Each person on average viewed 8 pages and spent 25 minutes on the site. "That's the type of engagement you get on Facebook," he says.

TweetMixx Channel creates a distribution method for tweets. In December, the NHL became the first in a handful of companies to launch a white-label platform from Mixx that aggregates tweets from Twitter on Web sites and blogs.

While three Twitter feeds provide information, the one with the greatest influence comes from the Insiders' Tab, where tweets stream from influential North American hockey writers. In Canada and the United States, the NHL-related stream on Twitter appeared in the top 10 trending topics. Those tweets feed through the TweetMixx Channel and onto the league's site.

TweetMixx is not the only tool that provides additional content to publishers. AdGent 007 also integrates into Web sites, relying on an API widget that allows brands to integrate online advertising with real-time tweets and Twitter feeds.

Similar to TweetMixx, publishers can use tweetedia to control, manage and filter Twitter streams on sites. The free AdGent tool offers management of featured Twittter feeds. Publishers can use the free tool to support traditional banner advertisements with or without sponsorship. As an ad network, publishers can upload a widget on blogs and other sites.

AdGent 007 splits the revenue with participating bloggers, although the percentage is being worked out. The ads appear in a 300 x 350 dpi box at the bottom of the unit, but hosts don't have a say in the ads that appear in the box. The ads and social media aim to drive the traffic.

The NHL's social media strategy has attracted more hockey fans to the site. When Casie needed quick access via iPhone while at a baby shower to track the U.S. and Canadian game last Sunday, she relied on the NHL Web site for up-to-the-minute reports and scores.

The NHL hopes that kind of loyalty rings through to advertisers. The league hopes to support their TweetMixx Web page with sponsors looking to skin the page. DiLorenzo knew that social media continues to drive traffic to the NHL Web site, but now he has the numbers to back up the claim. "Our playoffs are coming up and we'll see something similar," he says. "Every night you have a couple of mashup games, but they are highly scrutinized and broken down by fans, similar to NFL games."

Statistics published by Facebook on the Gold Medal Hockey game on Sunday reflected the energy and excitement. The U.S. scored in the last 20 seconds after losing 2 to 1. That tie sent the game to overtime, where Canada scored to win.

The Facebook published data points to member status updates that align peaks in the game to reflect that winning point from Canada. Between 2:29 and 2:54 p.m. Pacific time, more than 3.5 million status updates were posted, which is twice the pace of the rest of the day. "When it comes to following NHL players and teams, our fans use social media as a second screen for sharing and amplifying what's happening on the ice," DiLorenzo says.

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